o 
a 


GIFT   OF 


,:?T.  OF  lico^:o^■ 


A  Brief  Survey 

of 

Housing  Conditions  in  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut. 


Investigation  and  Report 

by 

Udetta  D.  Brown, 

for  the 

Bridgeport  Housing  Association 


March-May,  1914 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


K 


http://www.archive.org/details/briefsurveyofhouOObrowrich 


A  Brief  Survey 

of 

Housing  Conditions  in  Bridgeport, 
Connecticut. 


Investigation  and  Report 

by 

Udetta  D.  Brown, 

for  the 

Bridgeport  Housing  Association 


1  ••' »   .   • 


March-May,  1914. 


/S}^' 


%^'^ 


f*' 


THANK   YOU. 


Without  the  assistance  of  the  City  Officials  of  Bridge- 
port much  of  the  material  used  in  this  Report  would  have 
been  inaccessible.  Thanks  are  due  especially  to  Mr.  Rowland 
and  Miss  McGrath  in  the  Building  Inspector's  office,  to  Mr. 
Terry,  the  City  Engineer,  and  to  Mr.  Gordon,  Superintendent 
of  Charities,  Through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Ives  the  material 
in  the  Health  Department  was  placed  at  my  service. 

The  members  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Bridge- 
port Housing  Association  and  the  General  Secretary,  Mr. 
Myers,  responded  most  cordially  to  every  call  upon  their 
time  or  experience. 

The  data  concerning  the  source  of  water  supply  and 
facilities  for  distribution  were  obtained  from  the  Officials  of 
the  Hydraulic  Company. 

The  insurance  maps  of  the  city  were  repeatedly  put  at  my 
disposal  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Broderick 

Mr.  Ihlder,  Field  Secretary  of  the  National  Housing 
Association,  visited  Bridgeport  during  the  investigation.  He 
also  gave  helpful  suggestions  and  criticisms  on  the  final  re- 
port. 

To  these  and  all  the  others  who  helped  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  report,  I  take  this  opportunity  of  saying  "Thank 
you." 

UDETTA  D.  BROWN. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


I.     Introduction 5 

II.     General  Description  of  Investigation   9 

III.  Construction  and  Fire  Protection 17 

Material   17 

Type  of  House 17 

Yards  and  Courts 21 

.  Light  and  Ventilation 23 

Cellars  and  Basements   28 

Fire  Protection   30 

IV.  Sanitation  and  Maintenance 35 

Water  Supply   35 

Toilets     37 

Sewers     40 

Disposal  of  Ashes,  Garbage  and  Other  Refuse.  41 

Drainage  and  Cleanliness  of  Yards 45 

Outbuildings    45 

Repair  of  Buildings 47 

V.     Narrow  Streets,  Courts  and  Lanes 49 

VI.     Recent  Developments    51 

Tenements    51 

Two-Family  Houses   52 

One-Family  Houses 54 

Outlying  Sections    54 

VII.     Sunmiary    57 

Good  Conditions 57 

Bad  Conditions   58 

The  Outlook   62 

VIII.     Recommendations    63 

4 


CHAPTER  I. 
INTRODUCTION. 

In  early  Colonial  times,  the  place  where  Bridgeport  now 
is,  was  set  aside  as  an  Indian  reservation  between  the  towns 
of  Fairfield  and  Stratford.  It  was  known  as  the  Golden  Hill 
Reservation,  a  name  which  still  persists  in  the  city  in  Golden 
Hill  Street.  The  site  of  the  reservation  was  too  well  located 
on  the  shore  of  Long  Island  Sound  to  remain  secure  from  the 
white  man's  encroachments.  Gradually  he  pushed  his  way 
towards  the  port  and  built  his  home  on  the  hill  This  hill  is 
not  far  from  the  centre  of  the  city,  and  was  until  recent  years, 
the  finest  residence  section.  Here  were  large,  comfortable 
homes  with  spacious  lawns  and  gardens,  high  above  the  busy 
Main  Street  of  the  thriving  New  England  city.  Many  of  the 
old  houses  still  stand,  but  most  of  the  gardens  have  been  cur- 
tailed by  the  l)uilding  of  new  houses,  and  additional  streets 
have  been  cut  through  the  wide  lawns. 

Like  many  industrial  cities  the  population  of  Bridgeport 
is  largely  foreign.  Of  a  population  of  102,054  the  census  re- 
port shows  less  than  2']^o  of  the  white  people  to  be  native 
born  of  native  parents.  More  than  35%  are  foreign  born,  and 
a  slightly  larger  proportion  native  born  of  foreign  or  mixed 
parentage.  To  hear  the  conversation  in  trolley  cars  or  on  the 
streets  one  would  think  the  builders  of  the  Tower  of  Babel 
had  ])een  let  loose  in  the  city  of  Bridgeport  so  diversified  are 
the  tongues  spoken.  Nearly  seven  thousand  Hungarians, 
cleanly,  thrifty,  but  somewhat  stolid  make  up  about  20% 
of  this  foreign  born  element.  Ireland  and  Italy  each  con- 
tribute more  than  five  thousand;  Russia  more  than  four  thou- 
sand; Austria  and  England  each  more  than  three  thousand: 
Germany,  Sweden,   Syria,   Poland  and  many  other  countries 


add  to  this  polyglot  population.  Fortunately  these  races  are 
not  completely  isolated  one  from  the  other  in  various  sec- 
tions of  the  city,  although  one  race  frequently  predominates. 
One  woman  summed  up  the  situation  on  the  West  side  b})' 

saying  "I  speak  Hungarian,  German  and  ()!  you  have  to 

speak  a  little  of  everything-  if  you  live  down  here." 

Connecticut  was  originally  a  farming  state,  but  in  many 
parts  the  land  was  not  well  suited  to  this  industry.  The 
Yankee  pieced  out  his  income  from  the  farm  by  some  home 
industry  which  could  be  carried  on  during  the  winter  months 
when  the  farm  work  was  slack.  From  these  small  home 
manufactories  grew  the  huge  industrial  activities  of  the 
present  day. 

The  rapid  growth  of  Bridgeport  (43.7%  in  ten  years)  is 
due  largely  to  its  industrial  development  which  has  been 
fostered  by  the  location  of  the  city  on  the  main  line  of  the 
chief  railroad  of  New  England.  The  factories  are  of  many 
kinds,  including  those  making  automobiles,  corsets,  small 
metal  products  of  various  kinds  and  sewing  machines.  With 
such  a  variety  of  industries,  there  is,  of  course,  great  diversity 
in  the  skill  of  the  workmen  employed,  making  it  imperative 
that  the  skilled  and  the  unskilled  man  shall  be  able  to  obtain 
decent  homes  in  or  near  the  city. 

A  survey  of  the  living  conditions  in  Bridgeport  was  un- 
dertaken by  the  Bridgeport  Housing  Association  in  order  to 
find  out  what  conditions  obtained  in  the  city,  and  with  the 
expectation  that  a  definite  constructive  program  could  be 
based  on  the  report. 

Such  a  survey  is  made  by  selecting  districts  for  intensive 
study  much  as  an  expert  makes  borings  to  determine  the 
value  of  a  mine  and  the  best  method  of  working  it.  The  choice 
of  districts  in  Bridgeport  was  governed  partly  by  predominat- 
ing race  elements,  and  partly  by  type  of  dwellings  and  some- 
what by  the  amount  of  rent  paid. 

In  addition  to  these  intensive  investigations,  a  study  was 
made  of  tendencies  and  building  habits  in  the  city.  The  ma- 
terial used  was  that  obtained  in  these  intensive  inspections,  in 


more  general  inspections  in  many  parts  of  the  city,  official 
records  and  census  reports.  The  general  investigations  re- 
vealed a  number  of  courts,  narrow  streets,  and  lanes,  many 
of  which,  though  open  to  the  public,  are  regarded  as  private 
ways.  A  special  study  was  made  of  a  number  of  these 
thoroughfares. 

Terms  defined: 

For  the  purpose  of  this  survey  the  following  words  are 
used  as  defined  below : 

1.  A  tenement  house  is  any  house  or  building  or  portion 
thereof,  which  is  rented,  leased,  let,  or  hired  out,  to  be  oc- 
cupied, or  is  arranged  or  desig"ned  to  be  occupied,  or  is  oc- 
cupied as  the  home  or  residence  of  three  families  or  more,  liv- 
ing independently  of  each  other,  and  doing  their  cooking  upon 
the  premises,  and  having  a  common  right  in  the  halls,  stair- 
ways, or  yards. 

2.  A  two-family  house  is  a  house  shared  by  two  families, 
usually  one  family  on  each  floor,  and  includes  both  two-family 
flats  and  apartments  above  stores,  if  arranged  for  two  families 
only.  It  does  not  include  semi-detached  houses,  each  occupied 
by  a  single  family. 

3.  The  semi-detached  house  ("double  house"  or  "half 
house")  is  one  of  two  complete  houses  except  that  one  wall 
is  common  to  both  houses.  In  such  a  house  there  is  a  cellar, 
water  supply  and  yard  entirely  separate  and  distinct  from 
every  other  house,  although  there  may  be  no  dividing  fence 
in  the  yard. 

4.  A  cellar  is  a  story  more  than  one-half  below  the  level 
of  the  grade. 

5.  A  basement  is  a  story  partly,  but  not  more  than  one- 
half,  below  the  level  of  the  grade. 

6.  In  the  tables,  "?"  includes  any  house  or  portion  there- 
of about  which  there  is  any  uncertainty  or  which  does  not 
come  under  the  definite  classifications. 


Definitions  i,  4  and  5  are  those  in  the  State  Tenement 
House  Act, 

The  following  are  better  definitions  which  should  be  used 
in  legislation  hereafter  enacted. 

I.  A  Tenement  House  is  any  house  or  building  which  is 
occupied,  in  whole  or  in  part,  as  the  home  or  residence  of  two 
families  or  more  living  independently  of  each  other  and  doing 
their  cooking  upon  the  premises,  and  includes  apartment 
houses  and  flat  houses  and  all  other  houses  similarly  occupied, 
by  whatever  name  known. 

4.  A  cellar  is  a  story  having  more  than  one-half  of  its 
height  below  the  curb  level,  or  below  the  highest  level  of  the 
adjoining  ground. 

5.  A  basement  is  a  story  partly  underground  but  having 
at  least  one-half  of  its  height  above  the  curb  level,  and  also 
one-half  of  its  height  above  the  highest  level  of  the  adjoining 
ground. 


CHAPTER   II. 
GENERAL  DESCRIPTION  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

Three  districts  were  selected  for  detailed  inspection.  The 
first  was  in  the  so-called  Hungarian  section,  south  of  the  rail- 
road and  west  of  Cedar  Creek,  for  convenience  called  "District 
A"  in  the  report;  the  second  was  in  an  older  section  of  the 
city  on  the  east  side,  south  of  the  railroad  between  Yellow  Mill 
Pond  and  the  Pequonnock  River,  called  "District  B";  the 
third  section  was  on  the  west  side,  lying  between  Fairfield 
and  North  Avenues,  Mountain  Grove  Cemetery,  and  Park 
Avenue,  called  "District  C"  in  the  report. 

The  exact  location  of  the  houses  visited  in  each  of  these 
districts  is  in  the  hands  of  the  committee  as  are  also  the  record 
cards  and  the  tabulation  sheets.  In  making  these  detailed  in- 
spections special  houses  were  not  selected  but  every  occupied 
house  within  a  given  locality  was  visited  and  a  record  made 
of  it  so  that  the  best  as  well  as  the  worst  conditions  were  in- 
cluded. In  only  two  instances  was  the  investigator  refused 
admission.  These  houses  have  been  dropped  entirely  in  mak- 
ing the  tables  but  a  record  card  marked  "Admission  refused" 
was  kept  with  the  other  records  to  show  the  reason  for  omit- 
ting these  houses. 

"District  A"  includes  an  entire  block  and  the  houses  op- 
posite one  side  of  the  block,  making  a  total  of  fifty-four 
houses.  Many  of  the  houses  here  are  three  story  frame  tene- 
ments, frequently  of  the  semi-detached  type.  These  are 
treated  as  two  houses  if  the  separation  is  complete.  In 
general'  the  rooms  in  the  tenement  houses  are  adequately 
large  and  the  spaces  between  the  buildings  wide  enough  to 
furnish  good  light  and  ventilation.  There  are  also  some  two- 
family  and  a  few  one-family  houses  in  this  district.  The  worst 
feature  here  is  the  great  proportion  of  tenement  houses,  of  the 
232  families  provided  for,  209  are  in  tenement  houses  where  it 
is  impossible  to  develop  family  life  in  any  true  sense.     The 


hall  toilets,  which  are  usually  without  any  outside  window, 
are  a  constant  menace  to  the  health  and  morals  of  the  tenants. 
The  rear  dwellings,  most  of  which  are  tenement  houses,  show 
the  beginning's  of  a  slum  district. 

The  majority  of  the  people  are  Hungarians  but  there  is 
a  leavening  of  Slavs,  Jews  and  others.  Of  the  public  school 
pupils  in  this  vicinity  about  97%  are  Hungarians.  These  peo- 
ple seem  thrifty  and  clean.  The  bare  floors  are  scrubbed  until 
the  knots  and  nails  stand  out.  Frequently  a  sunny  window 
is  full  of  growing  plants,  among  which  may  be  found  some 
aromatic  ones  from  the  "old  country." 

On  a  sunshiny  day  the  yards  in  this  part  of  the  city  are 
gay  with  dancing  clothes-lines,  weighted  down  with  bed- 
covers, red  and  orange  pillows  peeping  through  the  handmade 
lace  of  the  pillow  slips,  and  bulging  feather  beds ;  while  little 
dresses  bob  and  courtesy  in  a  mad  frolic  with  the  breeze. 

Just  before  Easter  there  was  the  greatest  sort  of  a  house 
cleaning.  The  Jews  were  cleaning  up  for  the  Passover  accord- 
ing to  their  ritual,  the  halls  were  scrub1)ed,  accumulated  rub- 
bish was  cleared  away,  the  children  were  bathed  and  dressed 
in  their  best,  even  the  objecting  baby — "he  no  like  holiday" — 
was  given  the  most  thorough  bath  of  his  life.  Not  to  be  out- 
done, the  Christian  women  were  getting  ready  for  Easter  in 
much  the  same  fashion.  Many  a  barefooted  Slav  woman  had 
rooms  beyond  reproach,  the  kitchen  with  floor  and  sink  spot- 
less, the  stove  shiny  and  black,  and  beyond,  a  glimpse  of  a 
snowy  bed  bathed  in  the  afternoon  sun. 

In  ''District  B"  the  tenement  house  is  the  predominating 
type  of  dwelling.  Of  the  211  families  provided  for  here,  185 
are  in  tenement  houses.  In  general  the  buildings  are  older 
and  more  irregular  in  construction  than  in  the  west  end  dis- 
trict. Many  of  the  dwellings  have  awkward  additions;  several 
small  frame  houses  have  been  raised  one  story,  the  new  first 
story  being  of  brick  ;  in  one  or  two  instances  small  houses 
have  been  combined  in  one  larger  house.  Some  of  the  build- 
ings are  placed  askew  on  the  lots,  producing  a  jumble,  which 
is  increased  by  the  many  rear  houses. 

Among  these  rear  houses  are  many  which  have  seen 
better  days  and  have  been  retired  to  their  present  location 

10 


from  better  positions.  These  dwellings  usually  have  in- 
adequate yards,  and,  where  they  occur  on  abutting  lots,  nar^ 
row  spaces  are  made,  which  restrict  light  and  ventilation. 

The   tuberculosis    record   for   the   side   of   R Street, 

which  has  rear  tenements,  is  one  of  the  worst  in  the  city;  on 
the  other  hand,  no  cases  have  been  reported  during  1912  and 
1913  from  the  side  of  this  street  where  there  are  no  rear 
dwellings. 

In  this  district,  too,  were  found  disease  breeding  dark 
rooms.  Out-door  waterclosets,  filthy  and  lacking  decent 
privacy,  still  persist  in  some  of  the  yards. 

There  are  many  Italians  in  this  neighborhood,  who  retain 
their  national  customs  and  prejudices.  It  is  interesting  to  see 
in  operation  the  small  macaroni  factory  in  one  of  the  yards. 
The  factory  is  run  by  machinery  and  turns  out  a  vast  quantity 
of  macaroni  in  all  its  various  sizes  and  shapes. 

''Districts  A  and  B"  are  already  blighted  with  tenement 
houses.  As  a  contrast  to  them  "District  C"  was  included. 
This  "District"  is  in  a  section  of  Bridgeport  where  small 
houses  predominate  and  tenement  houses  are  infrequent,  of 
the  48  houses  inspected  not  one  was  a  tenement  house.  The 
two-family  house  is  the  usual  type,  but  there  are  many  one- 
family  dwellings  also.  The  houses  are  usually  detached, 
frame  cottages,  with  a  bit  of  green  at  the  front  and  sides  and 
an  ample  yard  at  the  rear.  The  yards  are  usually  fenced  and 
there  are  many  evidences  that  gardens  are  not  infrequent  in 
the  summer.  These  little  houses  ofifer  much  better  oppor- 
tunities for  family  life  than  the  larger  tenements.  One  could 
not  but  be  impressed  with  the  more  homelike  atmosphere  in 
this  neighborhood.  The  children  are  under  the  constant  sur- 
veillance of  their  mothers;  the  chickens  confined  instead  of 
wandering  freely  about  the  yards  and  streets ;  ashes  and  gar- 
bage more  generally  placed  in  their  proper  receptacles,  here 
and  there  small  patches  of  earth  dug  up  in  preparation  for  a 
kitchen  garden.  The  population  here  is,  if  possible,  even  more 
varied  than  elsewhere.  One  triangular  block  which  provides 
accommodations  for  thirty-three  families  shows  ten  dififerent 
nationalities,  ranging  from  the  American  born  through  the 
Irish  and  English  to  the  Syrians.     Several  of  the  houses  are 

11 


One  and  two-family  houses  in  "  District  C." 
Fenced  in  yards  with  grass,  vines,  and  shading  trees 


12 


owned  by  people  living  in  them,  although  this  is  by  no  means 
invariably  so.  The  result  is  that  more  care  is  taken  in  the 
selection  of  tenants,  but  the  choice  is  based  on  cleanliness, 
ability  to  pay  rent,  and  good-neighborliness  rather  than  upon 
race  prejudice.  It  v^as  in  this  neighborhood  that  the  investi- 
gator v\^as  addressed  by  one  of  the  men  first  in  Italian,  then  in 
German,  and  finally  in  French  w^hich,  if  not  perfect,  w^as  at 
least  near  enough  to  the  real  article  to  be  understood. 

The  usual  rent  in  "Districts  A  and  B"  is  $8.00  or  $9.00 
for  three  rooms  w^ith  an  occasional  low^er  rent  for  inferior  ac- 
commodations, or  an  increase  for  apartments  above  the  aver- 
age. In  "District  C"  the  rents  are  usually  from  $12.00  to  $18.00 
a  month.  The  rate  per  room  per  month  is  about  $3.00  in  all 
districts  but  "District  C"  offers  nothing  smaller  than  a  four 
room  apartment.  On  the  other  hand  the  rent  in  "District  C" 
includes  more  privacy,  the  use  of  at  least  half  the  yard  and 
frequently  a  bath  room.  Occasional  very  lovs^  rents  are 
found — such  as  v$4.oo  for  the  rear  rooms  upstairs,  in  a  rear 
tenement,  in  "District  B",  but  the  rooms  are  in  a  rickety  old 
house  and  are  occupied  by  people  so  unintelligent  that  in  six- 
teen years  they  have  not  acquired  enough  English  even  for  the 
every  day  needs  of  life. 

Because  of  the  depth  of  many  of  the  lots  in  the  city,  there 
is  an  unusually  large  number  of  short  courts,  lanes,  and  nar- 
row^ streets,  many  of  which,  and  possibly  all  of  which,  have 
been  made  by  the  land  owners  so  as  to  develop  their  property 
more  economically.  These  thoroughfares  were  investigated 
with  special  reference  to  the  paving,  lighting-,  and  the  type 
of  house  on  each.  There  was  a  great  variety.  Some  of  the 
courts  exemplified  the  excellent  conditions  which  can  result 
from  this  method  of  development  when  carried  out  wisely  and 
consistently.  Such  courts  are  adequately  wide  for  wagons 
to  pass  in  and  out.  They  are  paved  and  lighted  and  the 
houses  on  them  are  small  enough  not  to  unduly  darken  the 
narrow  way,  and  the  yards  at  the  rear  of  the  houses  are  ample 
for  the  small  dwellings.  On  the  other  hand  a  few  of  these 
small  thoroughfares  are  extremely  narrow  at  the  entrance,  the 
buildings  at  the  street  end  forming  a  sort  of  neck  to  the  bottle, 
the  rest  of  the  court  being  the  bottle.    With  no  artificial  light- 

13 


A  Narrow   Court 

The  court  is  paved  and  lighted,  the  yards  ample  for 
the  excellent  one-family  houses 


14 


ing  within  such  a  court  it  is  easy  to  realize  that  the  degenerate 
and  criminal  are  likely  to  seek  these  hidden  ways,  so  Bridge- 
port is  inviting,  even  if  it  has  not  already  developed,  the  evils 
that  afflict  Washington  because  of  its  alley  dwellings.  The 
entrances  to  the  courts  should  be  wide,  the  courts  without 
angles  or  offsets,  and  lighted,  so  they  may  be,  in  every  part, 
in  full  view  from  the  main  traveled  thoroughfare.  These 
minor  thoroughfares  should  be  taken  over  by  the  City  and 
new  ones  built  upon  only  when  they  have  been  accepted  by 
the  City. 

For  convenience  the  detailed  inspection  in  the  districts 
will  be  treated  under  two  classifications — the  first  will  deal 
with  construction  and  the  fire  peril,  the  second  with  sanitation 
and  maintenance  of  the  dwellings.  Under  construction  and 
fire  peril  consideration  will  be  given  to  the  type  of  buildings, 
the  material  of  which  it  is  made,  the  size  of  the  building  in 
proportion  to  the  lot,  the  type  and  use  of  cellar  or  basement, 
the  lighting-  of  the  halls  and  rooms,  and  also  fire  protection. 
Under  maintenance  and  sanitation  will  be  included  the 
adequacy  and  convenience  of  the  water  supply  and  toilet  ac- 
commodations, the  type  of  fixture  used,  lighting  of  the  toilet 
compartments,  the  provision  for  disposing  of  ashes  and  gar- 
bage, drainage  and  cleanliness  of  the  yards  and  out-buildings. 


15 


CHAPTER  III. 
CONSTRUCTION  AND  FIRE  PROTECTION. 


Material:  The  material  used  in  most  of  the  houses  in- 
spected and,  indeed,  throughout  the  city,  is  wood.  This  is 
highly  combustible  and  increases  the  fire  risk  tremendously. 
In  less  than  six  weeks  there  were  two  fires  in  the  Hungarian 
section  of  the  city  in  one  of  which  three  men  lost  their  lives, 
in  the  other  no  lives  were  lost  but  the  financial  loss  was  con- 
siderable. Aside  from  the  great  fire  risk  incident  to  such  a 
large  amount  of  frame  construction,  there  is  a  quick  deteriora- 
tion in  the  buildings  unless  repairs  are  made  frequently. 

Type  of  House:  In  "Districts  A  and  B"  by  far  the  great- 
er number  of  dwellings'  are  tenement  houses,  sheltering  from 
three  to  eight  families. 

Number    of   One-family,    Two-family,    and   Tenement   Hous'es   in 
EACH  District, 


One-family  houses 

Two-family  houses 

Tenement 
houses 

-? 

Total 

District  A 
"        B 
"       C 

5 

9 

16 

7 

9 

32 

40 

39 

0 

2 

1 
0 

54 

58 
48 

Total 

30 

48 

79 

3 

160 

Many  cities  in  the  East  have  already  burdened  themselves 
with  the  problems  resulting  from  tenement  house  life.  The 
apartments  are  usually  too  small  and  cramped  to  furnish 
room  for  home  life  and  home  recreation.  Children  and  young 
people  are  turned  out  on  the  street  and  into  public  resorts  for 
all  their  amusement  and  social  life,  imposing  upon  the  city  a 
heavy  burden,  due  to  the  delinquency  and  crime  sure  to  result. 
This  burden  will  be  partially  lifted  b}^  a  generous  provision  of 
well-managed  playgrounds  and  social  centers,  but  even  these 
will  not  fully  meet  the  need  so  created.     Playgrounds  and 


17 


A  frame  tenement  house  in  which  several  men  lost  their 
lives  and  other  lives  were  endangered  by  a  fire 


18 


social  centers  are  designed  to  supplement  the  home,  not  to  be 
substitutes  for  it.  They  furnish  opportunity  for  wholesome 
neighborhood  life,  but  leave  unfilled  the  need  for  the  privacy, 
the  wholesome  recreation  and  the  true  family  life  that  are 
possible  only  in  the  home.  It  is  not  too  late  for  Bridgeport  to 
take  decided  steps  toward  securing  dwellings  for  her  people 
that  will  be  homes.  The  following  table  compiled  from  the 
19 lo  census  report  makes  clear  the  position  of  Bridgeport  as 
compared  with  the  three  other  cities  next  larger  and  the  three 
next  smaller  to  it  in  population,  in  regard  to  the  number  of 
persons  per  dwelling'.  It  is  clear  from  this  that  although 
Bridgeport  does  not  head  the  list,  neither  is  she  the  greatest 
offender  in  this  respect.  Her  aim  should  be  toward  a  separate 
house  for  each  family. 


No.  of 

No.  of 

Persons 

Persons 

Families 

Name  of  City 

Population 

Dwellings 

Families 

per 
Dwelling 

per 
Family 

per 
Dwelling 

Trenton,  N.  J. 

96,815 

17,932 

19,678 

5.4 

4.9 

109 

Hartford,  Conn. 

9<S,915 

11,535 

21,925 

8.6 

4.5 

1.90 

Albany,  N.  Y. 

100,253 

15,437 

24,069 

6.5 

4.2 

1.55 

Bridgeport 

102,054 

14,084 

21,(J80 

«.8 

4.7 

1.45 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

104,839 

14,577 

22,765 

7.2 

4.6 

1.56 

Lowell,  Mass. 

1 06,294 

15,056 

21,932 

7.1 

4.8 

1.45 

Nashville,  Tenn. 

110,361. 

22,118 

26,077 

5.0 

4.2 

1.17 

In  many  respects  the  tenement  houses  of  Bridgeport  are 
much  better  than  those  many  other  cities  are  erecting.  The 
spaces  between  the  buildings  are  usually  ample  for  the  rooms 
depending  upon  them  for  light  and  ventilation.  The  yards  at 
the  rear  are  usually  large ;  the  windows  at  the  front  and  rear 
together  with  the  windows  at  the  sides  permit  of  cross  ventila- 
tion. The  rooms  themselves  are  large,  occasionally  too  large 
to  be  thoroughly  lighted  by  the  windows.  Furthermore,  these 
large  rooms  are  a  temptation  to  take  numerous  boarders. 
Two  or  three  large  beds  and  one  or  two  small  ones  can  be 
fitted  into  some  of  these  rooms  and  each  bed  is  filled  at  night. 

There  are  elsewhere  in  the  city  rows  of  brick  tenement 
houses,  with  interior  rooms.  The  present  State  law  prohibits 
the  further  erection  of  such  buildings,  and  provides  that  win- 
dows be  cut  from  the  dark  rooms  already  in  existence  to  ad- 


19 


joining"  light  rooms.  No  one  will  (juestion  the  necessity  of 
prohibiting  dark  rooms  the  value  of  light  and  air  is  so  well 
known  at  the  present  time ;  but  the  danger  of  the  sanitary 
tenement  is  more  difficult  to  combat  because  it  is  more  subtle 
and  elusive.  There  are  records  that  show  an  appalling  amount 
of  tuberculosis  in  unsanitary  dwellings,  but  the  breaking  down 
of  family  life ;  the  atrophy  of  the  sense  of  individual  respon- 
sibility, the  whole  gamut  of  moral  ills  which  result  from  tene- 
ment house  life,  even  at  its  best,  are  more  difficult  to  measure, 
but  no  less  real  than  the  physical  ills  which  are  bred  in  dark- 
ness and  filth. 

In  "District  C"  the  two-family  house  is  the  predominating 
type.  Such  houses  are  far  superior  to  tenement  dwellings, 
though  lacking  some  of  the  advantages  of  the  one-family 
house.  These  two-family  houses  frequently  have  yards  which 
are  fenced  in,  where  the  occupants  have  their  own  gardens 
and  where  children  play,  protected  from  the  dangers  of  the 
street  playground.  One  woman  was  unstinted  in  her  i)raise 
of  the  Hung-arian  living  in  the  house  with  her.  All  summer 
long,  she  said  the  front  yard  was  a  mass  of  beautiful  flowers, 
which  were  cared  for  with  patient  devotion. 

One-third  of  the  dwellings  in  this  District  are  of  the  one- 
family  type,  either  surrounded  by  a  yard  or  semi-detached.  It 
is  frequently  asserted  that  people  who  live  in  tenements  pre- 
fer them.  But  the  testimony  of  many  is  to  the  contrary.  Even 
when  the  burden  of  paying  for  a  house  rests  heavily  there  is 
rejoicing  at  the  seclusion  offered  by  the  separate  dwellings. 
One  woman  who  rented  a  six  room  cottage  for  $18.00  said 
the  "Privacy  was  worth  the  money."  Several  tenement 
dwellers  felt  that  such  shelter  was  only  a  make-shift  until 
they  were  able  to  do  better.  Frequently  the  cottages  had 
been  occupied  by  the  same  people  for  six  years  or  more.  There 
is  here  a  continuity  in  the  family  life,  usually  accompanied  by 
a  stability  of  occupation,  which  breeds  content  and  prosperity 
which  is  foreign  to  the  more  volatile  life  of  the  tenements. 

A  detached  house  of  six  rooms,  the  type  most  frequently 
seen  in  the  inspections,  is  larger  than  many  families  need  and 
commands  a  rent  ($18.00)  which  is  often  beyond  the  reach  of 
the  factory  worker.     Semi-detached  cottages  of  four  or  even 

20 


three  rooms,  renting  at  the  same  rate  (v$3.oo  per  room  per 
month)  would  be  as  well  within  the  reach  of  all  as  an  apart- 
ment in  a  two-family  house  or  sanitary  tenement  and  would 
make  a  much  better  home. 

Yards  and  Courts:  The  yards  at  the  rear  of  the  front 
houses  are  usually  ample  and  often  so  large  that  a  narrow 
street  cut  lengthwise  through  the  block  would  be  an  economic 
advantage,  if  built  upon  with  due  restrictions.  Where  these 
deep  lots  have  been  utilized  for  the  erection  of  rear  houses 
all  too  frequently  the  additional  house  is  a  tenement,  so 
large  that  it  of  necessity  overcrowds  the  yard  space.  There 
are  instances  where  the  space  between  the  rear  house  and  the 
rear  fence  is  insufificient  even  for  a  passage  way.  Where  two 
rear  dwellings  are  built  on  abutting  lots,  ventilation  and  light 
are  nearly  always  obstructed  and  the  fire  risk  is  greatly  aug- 
mented. 

In  strong  contrast  to  the  many  ample  yards  are  instances 
of  buildings  so  constructed  and  so  crowded  together  that  there 
is  little  or  no  yard  space. 


21 


Buildings  so  crowded  together  that  there  is 
little  or  no  yard  space 


22 


In  "District  B"  there  is  a  corner  lot  with  only  a  tiny 
wedge-shaped  yard  and  this  does  not  extend  to  the  street. 
The  result  is  that  there  are  dark  rooms  and  any  escape  from 
one  of  the  houses  in  case  of  fire  is  restricted  to  the  roof  and 
the  one  entrance  to  the  street.  The  stairs  to  this  entrance  are 
of  wood  and  there  are  only  wooden  doors  separating  the 
apartments  from  the  public  hall.  Fire  flaming  up  on  the  stairs 
would  cut  ofif  escape  by  roof  or  entrance,  forcing  the  people  to 
the  windows  where  there  are  no  fire  escapes,  though  possibly 
they  could  reach  the  wooden  porch  of  the  adjacent  house. 
Mere  and  there  other  cases  were  noted  where  the  yards  be- 
tween front  and  rear  tenements  are  so  small  that  they  are 
practically  always  in  shadow  from  the  adjacent  buildings.  In 
such  yards  the  spring  was  well  advanced  before  the  winter's 
collection  of  snow  was  melted  away  and  the  frost  thoroughly 
out  of  the  ground. 

It  is  gratifying  to  find  that  the  courts  or  sideyards  are 
fre(|uently  wider  than  the  minimum  requirement  for  tene- 
ments. In  several  instances  where  new  tenements  are  being 
erected  measurements  were  made  and  these  courts  measured 
nearly  doul)le  the  width  required  l)y  law.  A  com])arison  of  the 
light  in  the  rooms  on  these  courts  with  the  light  in  rooms 
where  the  ccnirt  was  down  to  the  minimum,  confirmed  the 
opinion  held  by  many  familiar  with  the  State  Code  ^hat  the 
width  of  the  side  courts  as  prescribed  in  that  statute  is  not 
sufficient.  The  many  instances  where  wider  courts  are  being 
left  are  proof  that  Bridgeport  does  not  believe  the  small  court 
a  necessity.  Legislation  setting  a  mnrc  nearly  adequate 
standard  will  save  l>ridge])ort  from  dwelling  rooms  which  are 
not  amply  lighted. 

Light  and  Ventilation:  Dark  rooms  result  from  two 
causes.  The  first  is  the  house  with  interior  rooms  so  ar- 
ranged that  they  cannot  have  windows  cut  directly  to  the 
outer  air.  No  such  rooms  were  found  in  either  "Districts  A" 
or  "C".  In  "District  B"  there  are  five  houses  having  rooms 
without  windows  directly  to  the  outer  air.  The  first  building- 
in  which  I  met  with  this  condition  was  a  brick  tenement  oc- 
cupied by  seven  families.  In  the  first  apartment  a  sick  baby 
fretted  in  its  cradle;  the  rapid  breathing  seeming  to  foretell 

23 


Children  playing  in 
and 


a  badly  drained  yard  between  a  front 
a  rear  tenement  house 


24 


the  beginning-  of  pneumonia.  In  another  room  a  little  girl 
some  six  years  of  age  crouched  against  the  wall.  Shawls 
hung-  across  the  windows  darkened  the  sun  shining  into  the 
kitchen.  The  mother  explained  that  the  little  girl  had  sore 
eyes.  On  inspection  it  was  found  that  the  apartment  con- 
sisted of  the  sunny  kitchen,  a  dark  bedroom,  and  a  living 
room  with  windows  toward  the  east.  In  yet  another  apart- 
ment a  pale-faced,  anaemic  small  boy  was  wandering  listlessly 
about  with  his  head  wrapped  up,  the  explanation  being  that  he 
was  ill.  My  inspection  of  other  dwellings  had  revealed  al- 
most no  illness  up  to  this  time.  How  much  were  the  dark 
rooms  responsible  for  the  poor  health  of  these  children?  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  efifect  of  lack  of  sunlight  and 
fresh  air  is  frequently  a  general  debility  which  predisposes 
people  to  disease,  rather  than  specific  diseases,  such  as  tuber- 
culosis, due  to  lack  of  sunlight. 

Some  of  the  dark  rooms  found  in  this  district  are  the  re- 
sult of  dividing  larger  rooms.  This  is  especially  true  where 
there  are  small  shops  in  the  front  of  a  building  which  original- 
ly Iiad  a  single  room  at  the  rear.  This  room  is  used  as  a 
kitchen  and  a  partition  divides  the  rear  of  the  store  from  the 
front,  making  a  bed-room,  if  the  space  thus  provided  can  be 
dig'nified  by  the  name  of  room.  In  most  instances  it  is  hardly 
more  than  space  enough  for  a  couple  of  beds  with  a  passage- 
way between  them  from  kitchen  to  store,  with  no  provision 
for  privacy  either  for  the  family  or  individual. 

A  second  cause  of  dark  rooms  is  the  erection  of  buildings 
so  close  together  that  the  spaces  between  are  insufficient  to 
furnish  light  and  ventilation.  Usually  the  first  of  such  build- 
ings was,  when  erected,  well  supplied  with  light  and  air  "bor- 
rowed" from  neighboring  lots.  When  these  lots  are  built  up- 
on, narrow  spaces  only  are  left  between  the  buildings.  There 
are  not  many  such  found  in  the  districts  inspected  but  there 
are  occasional  instances  of  this  defect.  One  of  the  worst  of- 
fenders in  this  respect  is  the  building  already  referred  to  as 
having  dark  rooms.  Not  content  with  making  interior  rooms, 
the  building  is  so  placed  on  the  lot  that  some  of  the  rooms 
have  practically  no  yard  space  behind  them  and  when  the  ad- 
joining lot  was  developed  the  light  was  cut  off.     There  are 

25 


also  tenement  houses  in  ^'District  A"  where  the  spaces  be- 
tween the  buildings  are  short  of  what  is  now  required  under 
the  State  law.  It  is  impracticable  to  remedy  this  defect  but 
it  should  be  prevented  absolutely  in  the  future.  These  nar- 
row ways  are  frequently  made  worse  by  the  eaves  projecting 
unnecessarily  beyond  the  side  of  the  house.  This  is  a  building 
device  which  is  perhaps  carried  to  its  extreme  in  two-family 
houses  now  building  in  the  northern  end  of  Bridg'eport.  At 
times  undoubtedly  the  appearance  of  a  house  is  improved  by 
eaves  projecting  l)eyond  the  side  walls.  With  a  peaked  or 
slanting  roof  such  eaves  protect  the  sides  of  the  house  from 
rain  and  snow,  l)ut  it  is  possible  to  construct  houses  with 
roofs  slanting  so  that  they  drain  at  the  rear,  when  practically 
no  side  eaves  are  necessary.  Such  a  construction  should  be 
strongly  favored  by  those  building  dwellings  with  only  the 
minimum  space  at  the  sides.  The  use  of  exaggerated  eaves 
which  always  darken  the  windows  to  some  extent  can  be 
tolerated  only  where  there  are  wide  yards  at  the  rear  and 
sides  of  the  dwellings. 

The  lighting  of  the  halls  in  tenements  has  frecjuently 
been  one  of  the  most  difficult  problems  to  solve.  The  practice 
in  Bridgeport  in  the  past  has  usually  been  to  construct  the 
tenements  with  the  halls  running  through  from  front  to  rear 
with  a  stairway  in  front  and  another  at  the  rear,  either  inside 
or  outside  of  the  house.  Such  an  arrangement  admits  of 
thorough  ventilation  and  with  windows  at  the  ends  of  the 
halls  or  glass  set  in  the  doors,  the  halls  are  fairly  well  lighted. 
There  are  some  exceptions  to  this  good  practice,  such  as  hall- 
ways lighted  only  by  small  panes  set  in  the  doors  to  bedrooms 
and  these  panes  usually  curtained  in  order  to  secure  privacy. 
Such  halls  are  usually  dirty  and  have  accumulations  of  old 
clothes  and  broken  crockery  in  the  corners.  One  very  bad 
hall  plan  was  found  in  "District  A."  This  hall  was  intercepted 
midway  by  the  toilet  compartment  and  was  rendered  even 
more  irregular  by  projections  from  the  front  and  rear  apart- 
ments. 


26 


Three  story  frame  tenement  houses.     Distance  between 

the    buildings    is    14    feet.     The    state    law   permits 

10    foot    spaces,   5    feet    for    each    three    story 

tenement  house.     These  houses  face  south. 

Time  2.15  P.  M. 


27 


HALL          OF 

wc 

ADJOINING    HOUSE 

1               1 

HALL 

wc 

HALL 

1 

APARTMENT 

APARTMENT 

The  lighting-  of  halls  at  night  is  reqnired  hy  law.  The 
ahsence  of  both  gas  and  electricity  in  many  houses  makes 
the  problem  difficult.  But  the  best  kept  up  tenements  are 
provided  with  shelves  and  lamps  for  night  use.  This  practice 
is  attended  with  some  danger  from  fire  but  minimizes  the 
moral  dangers  of  the  unlighted  public  hall. 

Cellars  and  Basements:  The  tenement  houses  of  Bridge- 
port are  peculiarly  open  to  criticism  ])ecause  of  the  use  of 
cellars  and  basements  as  dwellings.  Such  dwellings  have  been 
found  in  rear  tenements  with  windows  almost  level  with  the 
swampy  yard  and  shadowed  by  surrounding  buildings  and 
fences.  It  is  hardly  possible  that  such  dwellings  can  be  dry 
enough  to  make  a  suitable  dwelling  for  any  one.  Small  win- 
dows aggravate  the  unfavorable  conditions.  Rheumatism, 
tuberculosis,  and  other  ills  fostered  by  the  damp  conditions 
result  in  enfeebled  men  and  women,  who  become  a  burden  on 
the  community.  "District  B"  had  eleven  houses  containing 
seventeen  apartments  with  floors  well  below  grade.  Similar 
dwellings  may  be  seen  on  many  streets  of  the  city.  It  cannot 
be  strongly  enough  emphasized  that  no  new  buildings  should 
be  erected  with  living  rooms  below  the  grade.  If  there  are 
cellars  we  should  insist  upon  their  being  water-proof,  light, 
and  well  ventilated.  Otherwise  the  house  should  be  lifted  a 
foot  and  a  half  or  two  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground  to 
permit  of  ventilation  under  the  lowest  floor.     The  time  has 


28 


Cellar  Dwelling 

Note  the  small  window  which,  even   on  a  sunny  day, 

is  shaded  by  the  house 


29 


passed  when  we  can  plead  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  effect 
of  damp  and  musty  cellars  and  basements  upon  the  occupants 
of  a  house. 

Fire  Protection:  The  question  of  fire  protection  and  suf- 
ficient means  of  egress  from  a  building  in  case  of  fire  is  a  very 
important  one.  We  hear  repeatedly  of  the  huge  yearly  loss 
from  fire  in  America  as  compared  with  European  countries. 
There  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  old-fashioned  feeling  that  a  fire  is 
a  visitation  of  Providence  which  should  be  accepted  with  little 
or  no  murmur,  instead  of  the  saner  view  that  a  fire  is  an  evi- 
dence of  carelessness  or  even  of  crime,  and  that  loss  of  life  in 
a  fire  is  an  indictment  of  the  whole  community.  Every  year 
scores  of  three-story  double  frame  tenements  are  being  erect- 
ed in  the  larger  New  England  cities.  Bridgeport  is  no  excep- 
tic^n  to  this  tendency  in  construction.  h\)rtunately  the  hire  De- 
partment, and  weather  conditions  not  favorable  to  a  ra])jd 
spread  of  fire  have  so  far  saved  the  city  from  any  large  con- 
flagration. 

The  question  of  fire-escapes  is  one  which  demands  at- 
tention. Even  on  the  brick  buildings  which  are  included  in 
this  survey  no  iron  fire-escapes  were  found,  although  there 
are  brick  tenement  houses  in  other  districts  so  equipped.  The 
most  nearly  adequate  provision  for  leaving  the  buildings  and 
safeguarding  the  tenants  were  in  those  buildings  which  pro- 
vide a  front  stairway  and  a  rear  stairway  outside.  This  gives 
two  distinct  means  of  leaving  the  building.  But  there  is 
usually  no  means  of  cutting  off  the  fire  from  any  part  of  the 
very  inflammable  stairway  and  halls.  The  make-shift  ar- 
rangement of  two  inside  stairways  which  practically  meet  on 
the  second  and  third  floor  halls  offers  little  improvement  over 
a  single  stairway.  Possibly  the  conditions  are  even  made  worse 
by  the  increased  facility  for  the  drafts  spreading  the  flames 
through  the  house. 

There  were  some  houses  found  in  which  there  is  no  in- 
side stairway  or  at  best  a  stairway  which  reaches  only  from 
the  second  to  the  third  floor.  The  single  outside  stairway  is 
depended  upon  to  reach  the  second  floor.  These  stairways 
usually  are  at  the  sides  or  rear  of  the  buildings.  While  limit- 
ing the  means  of  leaving  the  various  apartments,  this  arrange- 

30 


Fire  in  the  West  End 

The  narrow  spaces  between    the  buildings  hampered 

the    firemen  and   increased  the    danger  of 

the  fire  spreading 


81 


ment  does  away  with  the  stair-well  which  so  frequently  has 
proved  the  weak  point  when  fire  has  once  made  headway  in  a 
building.  But  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  such  buildings 
can  be  as  conveniently  handled  by  the  firemen  as  they  would 
be  if  a  stairway  were  provided  leading  directly  to  the  street 
at  the  front  of  the  house. 

The  accumulations  of  rubbish  in  the  cellars  and  yards 
(for  which  there  is  no  excuse)  are  a  source  of  danger  to  the 
buildings.  In  some  instances  the  cellar  is  crowded  Avith  junk, 
so  that  any  attempt  of  a  fireman  to  reach  the  flames  would  be 
greatly  hampered.  Accumulations  of  rags  and  paper  in  the 
yard  could  be  ignited  by  flying  sparks  and  would  then  be 
driven  about  by  even  a  moderate  wind,  threatening  the  sheds 
and  flimsy  outbuildings  which  ofi^er  an  ever  ready  supply  of 
kindlings  if  the  yard  rubbish  were  once  aflame. 

The  fire  danger  is  increased  in  many  of  the  tenements  by 
the  fact  that  the  dividing  walls  do  not  extend  from  the  cellar 
to  the  roof  and  from  the  front  to  the  rear  wall  of  the  house, 
so  forming  two  independent  dwellings.  Instead  the  rear 
walls  are  often  thrown  together  or  doorways  cut  through  the 
dividing  wall  for  convenience  in  getting  from  one  house  to  the 
other,  or  the  brick  division  in  the  cellar  does  not  extend  the 
full  depth  of  the  dwelling.  The  present  regulations  require 
this  wall  to  be  without  a  break. 

Added  to  the  extremely  inflamma])le  character  of  the  ma- 
terial used  in  the  majority  of  the  dwellings,  to  the  accumula- 
tions of  rubbish  in  cellars  and  yards,  and  to  the  lack  of  slow 
burning  party  walls,  the  situation  is  further  complicated  by 
infrequent  hydrants.  During  the  course  of  the  investigations 
there  was  a  fire  on  Spruce  Street  between  Hancock  and  Bost- 
wick  Avenues.  In  order  to  obtain  sufficient  water  to  fight  the 
blaze,  engines  were  stationed  well  down  Spruce  Street  toward 
Howard  Avenue.  Had  the  firemen  failed  to  confine  the  fire  to 
the  original  building  and  the  outer  walls  of  adjacent  houses, 
it  would  have  been  necessary  to  pump  water  an  even  greater 
distance. 


32 


Inflammable  material  in  the  cellar  of  a    tenement  house. 

Boxes,  barrels  and  boards  stacked  up  like  kindlings 

as  they  proved  to  be.     Fire  broke  out  in  the 

house    early    one   morning,  originating 

probably,  in  the  cellar 


33 


CHAPTER  IV. 
SANITATION  AND  MAINTENANCE. 

Water  Supply:  Bridgeport  is  most  fortunate  in  having  a 
plentiful  and  excellent  water  supply.  Herring  &  Freeman 
state  that  of  the  136  largest  cities  in  this  country  Bridgeport 
ranks  third  in  mortality  from  typhoid.  The  low  death  rate 
from  typhoid  should  prove  a  city  asset.  The  water  supply  is 
drawn  from  various  rivers,  lakes  and  springs,  and  is  stored  in 
several  large  reservoirs.  The  supply  is  kept  from  contamina- 
tion by  the  fact  that  the  country  drained  is  sparsely  settled 
and  is  policed  by  overseers  of  the  Hydraulic  Company.  "Ilie 
water  is  subjected  to  the  purifying  influence  of  sunshine  as  it 
flows  into  the  storage  basins. 

The  method  of  charging  for  water  service  is  of  vital  con- 
cern to  every  community.  Cleanliness  and  health  are  largely 
dependent  upon  an  ample  and  convenient  supply  of  good 
water.  Some  method  of  a  flat  rate  has  advantages  for  both 
the  tenant  and  the  community.  The  method  in  Bridgeport  is 
a  flat  rate  for  fixtures  with  a  lesser  rate  for  additional  fixtures 
for  the  same  family  or  for  several  families  using  the  same  fix- 
tures. In  this  way  the  dangers  resulting  from  a  metered  sup- 
ply are  avoided.  If  a  meter  is  installed  there  is  always  a 
temptation  for  the  one  paying  the  water  bill  to  lessen  or  en- 
tirely cut  ofif  the  supply  so  as  to  save  expense.  The  results 
are  that  apartments  become  dirty  and  the  fixtures  most  un- 
sanitary. In  one  city  where  the  landlord  could  choose  be- 
tween a  flat  rate  or  a  meter,  it  was  found  that  occasionally  the 
owner  paid  the  flat  rate  on  his  own  dwelling  but  evidently  cut 
ofif  the  supply  in  the  nearby  houses  which  he  owned  and 
which  were  furnished  with  meters,  telling  the  tenants  to  come 
to  his  house  for  all  the  water  they  wished  and  to  use  his 
closet,  which  was  a  yard  structure.  In  this  way  he  put  the 
tenants  at  a  great  disadvantage,  some  of  them  having  to  carry 
water  more  than  a  hundred  feet,  but  he  practically  furnished 
three  or  four  houses  at  the  expense  of  one. 

35 


Hardly  less  important  than  the  source  and  adequacy  oi 
the  water  supply,  is  the  location  of  the  faucets.  A  convenient 
sink  with  running  water  usually  results  in  a  clean  home  and 
well-washed  children.  Certainly  the  contrary  is  true.  If  a 
woman  is  forced  to  carry  all  the  water  used  by  her  family  u]) 
a  steep  flight  of  stairs,  and  a  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet, 
there  is  a  strong  temptation  to  slight  the  scrubbing  and 
washing  processes.  Bridgeport  is  indeed  fortunate  in  having 
practically  every  apartment  supplied  with  its  individual  sink 
with  a  good  flow  of  water.  Compared  with  other  cities  this  is 
a  most  satisfactory  record.  But  the  sinks  themselves  are  fre- 
quently old  and  almost  invariably  inclosed  with  woodwork. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  sinks  should  be  replaced  except 
where  they  are  actually  worn  out,  but  the  woodwork  should 
be  removed  so  as  to  admit  light  and  air  where  now  are  dark 
and  often  dirty,  vermin  infected  closets.  Under  present  cir- 
cumstances, the  dark,  unventilated  cubby-hole  is  used  for  the 
storage  of  cleaning  cloths,  kerosene,  and  other  articles ;  not 
infrequently  a  small  pail  of  garbage;  and  occasionally  a  pile 
of  ashes  which  is  so  caked  together  that  it  has  evidently  been 
in  the  same  place  for  many  weeks,  indeed  was  probably  in- 
herited l)y  the  present  occupants  of  the  apartment.  Just  how 
bad  these  enclosed  sinks  can  become  was  well  illustrated  in  an 
old  rear  tenement.  The  owner  of  the  l^uilding  was  asked  to 
open  the  door  under  the  sink  so  that  the  pipes  could  be  in- 
spected. When  he  did  so  a  thousand  and  one  water  bugs 
swarmed  out  from  the  rotten  water-soaked  woodwxn'k.  He, 
of  course,  was  horrified,  and  murmured  something  about  pour- 
ing hot  water  over  the  vermin.  The  cliildren  were  much  in- 
terested. 


Number  of  Houses  in  each  District  having  Sinks  with  Plumbing 
AS  follows: 


Plumbing  Enclosed 

Plumbing  Open 

^  Mixed 

? 

Total 

District  A 
"       B 
"       C 

25 
29 

22 
21 

IS 

5 

8 
0 

2 

54 

58 

48 

Total 

84 

61 

13 

160 

3G 


Bath-tul)s  are  not  found  often  in  the  tenement  houses,  but 
in  the  one  and  two-family  houses  in  all  the  districts,  and 
especially  in  ''District  C"  nearly  every  apartment  had  a  tub — 
usually  of  the  old-fashioned  sheet-iron  type.  It  is  said  that 
outside  of  the  cheapest  tenements  no  one  in  Bridgeport  will 
accept  a  house  without  a  bath.  This  preference  is  even  carried 
so  far  that  bath-tubs  are  sometimes  found  where  there  are  no 
wash-tubs. 

Toilets:  One  of  the  most  vital  problems  in  the  housing 
situation  is  the  adequacy  of  toilet  accommodations.  In  this 
respect  again  Bridgeport  is  well  above  many  cities  in  the 
country.  In  comparatively  few  instances  were  toilets  found 
which  serve  more  than  two  families,  and  in  more  than  half 
the  houses  there  are  separate  accommodations  for  each  family. 
As  the  accompanying  table  shows,  the  worst  conditions  are 
in  the  tenement  districts. 

Number  of  Houses  in  each  District  classified  according  to  Ratio 
OF  Families  to  Toilets  Appurtenant  to  each  House. 


Not  more  than 
one  family 

More  than  one 
Not  more  than  two 

More  than 
two 

? 

Total 

District  A 
"       B 
"        C 

21 

20 
44 

27 

19 
3 

6 

16 

0 

0 
3 

1 

54 

58 
48 

Total 

85 

49 

22 

4 

160 

Unfortunately  many  of  the  compartments  are  located  in 
the  halls  so  that  they  are  not  as  convenient  as  they  would  be 
if  i)laced  within  the  apartment.  The  result  of  this  incon- 
venience is  the  almost  universal  de])endence  on  portable  re- 
ceptacles for  use  in  the  rooms  even  during  the  day.  The  prac- 
tice of  depending  on  such  receptacles  breeds  in  the  children  a 
lack  of  personal  decency  which  is  much  to  be  regretted.  Nor 
does  there  seem  any  excuse  for  placing  the  closets  in  the  hall. 
Frequently  the  space  utilized  is  taken  from  the  rooms  and  if 
the  doorway  were  placed  in  the  apartment  instead  of  in  the 
hall  the  desired  family  privacy  could  be  obtained. 

These  hall  compartments  are  objectionable  on  another  ac- 
count as  they  lack  proper  ventilation  and  are  almost  invariably 
dark,   although   there  are   sufficient  instances   of  hall   closets 


37 


placed  so  as  to  be  lighted  by  windows  at  the  rear  of  the 
house,  to  show  that  the  tenants  of  the  usual  square  ])ox  tene- 
ment need  not  bear  the  additional  Intrden  of  unlighted  toilets. 

Number   of   Houses  in  each  District  served  by  Toilets  haying 

ADE52UATE  windows  OR  NOT. 


Having  window  to 
street,  yard  or  court 

Having  no  window 

to  street,  yard 

or  court 

? 

Yard  toilets 
only 

Total 

District  A 
"        B 
"       C 

11 
15 
45 

38 

18 

2 

5 

*19 

0 

0 

6 

1 

54 

58 
48 

Total 

71 

58 

24 

7 

160 

*  This  number  is  larg-ely  due  to  porch  and  entry  closets,  which  received  some  light  from 
transoms,  or  glass  panels. 

The  small  shaft  which  is  permitted  under  the  present 
tenement  house  law  is  inadequate  for  lighting  these  toilets, 
especially  on  the  lower  stories  of  the  dwelling  houses.  They 
do  improve  the  ventilation  somewhat,  but  only  to  a  ^'ery 
limited  extent. 

At  night  practically  all  the  toilet  compartments  in  "Dis- 
tricts A  and  B"  are  without  lights  except  as  candles  or  lamps 
are  carried  into  them.  The  practice  of  relying  on  movable 
lights  in  these  frame  buildings  is  exceedingly  dangerous.  The 
filthy  condition  of  many  of  the  fixtures  when  inspected  in  the 
morning  is  conclusive  evidence  that  artificial  lighting  is  neces- 
sary to  insure  cleanliness.  Repeated  drij^pings  from  the  fix- 
tures have  so  saturated  the  wooden  floors  that  it  is  now  im- 
possible to  make  the  compartments  odorless.  Nor  can  we 
overlook  the  moral  danger  attending  the  use  of  these  dark- 
compartments,  especially  if  they  serve  several  families. 

In  marked  contrast  to  the  obsolete  enclosed  sinks  are  the 
good  toilet  fixtures.  There  are  still  extant  a  number  of  short 
hopper  closets,  but  the  Avash-out  and  still  more  the  excellent 
wash-down  type  is  usual  and  wherever  old  closets  were  being 
replaced,  one  of  modern  type  was  invariably  installed.  A  few 
yard  closets  were  found  and  one  or  two  privies,  but  the  house 
water-closet  is  almost  universal  where  sewer  connections  are 
possible,  and  frequently  where  cesspools  must  be  relied  upon. 
City  departments  and  the  water  company  have  brought  pres- 


38 


Flash  light  picture  of   a  yard  closet.     The  closet  is  open 

to  the  patrons  of  a  saloon  and  a  dance  hall,  although 

it  is  the   only  accommodation   for   one   family 


39 


sure  to  bear  to  secure  this  desirable  state  of  affairs.  At  the 
present  time  the  water  company  has  the  following  regulation  : 
"No  water-closet  may  l^e  connected  with  the  water  supply  un- 
less it  is  placed  inside  of  a  building  with  other  water  fixture." 

The  yard  closets  which  were  found,  though  few  in  num- 
ber, present  most  of  the  bad  features  of  such  accommodations. 
In  one  yard,  three  fixtures  served  two  houses — ten  families — 
and  a  barber  shop.  Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  keep  the 
closets  clean  and  the  doors  were  locked  to  prevent  the  pro- 
miscuous use  of  the  fixtures.  In  another  instance  a  yard 
closet  which  was  the  only  convenience  for  one  family  was 
open  to  the  use  of  the  patrons  of  a  saloon  and  a  dance  hall ; 
in  addition  the  surrounding  buildings  so  shadowed  the  closet 
that  a  flashlight  was  necessary  in  taking  a  picture  of  it.  The 
privy,  which  was  still  in  use  in  "District  C",  though  clean, 
was  over-full  and  a  nuisance  to  the  neighborhood.  There  is  as 
little  excuse  for  this  privy  as  for  the  yard  water-closets  found, 
since  sewers  are  in  the  streets  in  these  districts. 

In  a  few  instances  the  only  toilet  accommodations  were 
in  a  neighboring  house.  Such  accommodations  may  be  sani- 
tary, well  lighted  and  modern,  but  by  no  stretch  of  the  imagi- 
nation can  they  be  called  convenient.  They  and  the  yard 
toilet  alike  are  not  fit  arrangements  for  any  family^  where 
water-closets  in  the  apartments  are  possible.  No  one  is  re- 
sponsible for  the  condition  of  cleanliness  and  repair  of  the  fix- 
tures, they  are  semi-public  in  character  and  so  tend  to  destroy 
those  personal  habits  of  decency  which  safeguard  morality. 
The  inconvenience  of  having  no  easily  accessible  toilet  is  in- 
creased when  there  are  babies  and  toddlers  in  the  family. 

Nothing  short  of  a  sanitary  toilet  in  a  well  lighted  com- 
partment, directly  accessible  from  each  apartment  and  for  the 
use  of  one  family  only,  should  content  the  City  of  Bridgeport, 
which  has  already  the  necessary  water  supply  and  the  habit 
of  installing  excellent  fixtures. 

Sewers:  The  proper  disposal  of  sewerage  necessitates 
modern  toilet  fixtures,  but  these  alone  are  not  sufficient. 
Sewers  ample  in  size  and  serving  the  entire  community  must 
be  provided.  It  is  at  this  point  that  Bridgeport  fails  to  meet 
the  responsibilities  of  a  large  and  rapidly  growing  American 

40 


city.  The  mileage  of  sewers  in  the  city  is  less  than  two-thirds 
the  mileage  of  water-mains  (approximately  105  miles  of 
sewers,  163.5  of  water-mains).  A  city  the  size  of  Bridgeport 
cannot  afford  seventy-five  miles  of  unsewered  streets  and 
still  more  in  which  the  sewers  are  inadecjuate  for  the  present 
demands  npon  them.  The  growth  of  the  city  is  so  rapid  that 
the  condition  is  becoming-  worse  almost  daily.  There  are,  in 
round  numbers,  180  miles  of  public  streets,  of  which  it  is  as- 
serted that  not  more  than  forty  per  cent,  have  sewers  which 
can  meet  the  demands  put  upon  them. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  city  there  are  sections  which 
are  being  rapidly  developed  where  no  sewer  connection  is 
possible  at  present.  Cess-pools  are  being  excavated  in  the 
yards  in  this  section  resulting-  in  a  net-work  of  pools  which 
become  filthy  and  foul  unless  properly  cleansed.  During  the 
two  months  of  the  survey  there  were  complaints  from  the 
residents  in  this  part  of  the  city  because  of  the  seepage  froni 
the  cess-pools  into  nearby  streams  which  became  noisome  and 
filthy.  Worse  conditions  than  those  already  confronting  the 
city  will  shortly  develop  if  the  principle  of  building  two- 
family  houses  and  tenements  in  unsewered  sections  of  the  city 
is  allowed  to  continue.  The  amount  of  waste  from  such 
buildings  cannot  be  cared  for  in  cess-pools  without  danger  to 
the  community  when  dwellings  become  frequent.  Sewers 
should  spread  out  into  new  sections  so  as  to  obviate  the 
double  expense,  first  of  providing  privately  for  the  disposal  of 
sewerage  and  later  of  connecting  with  the  sewer  system. 

Disposal  of  Ashes,  Garbage  and  Other  Refuse :  The  city 
of  Bridgeport  provides  for  the  collection  of  garbage.  During 
the  months  of  the  investigation  this  problem  seemed  to  be 
adequately  met.  It  will  doubtless  be  necessary  to  make  more 
frequent  collections  during  the  warm  weather.  A  more  vigor- 
ous enforcement  of  the  rules  regarding  the  receptacles  would 
have  beneficial  results.  Such  regulations  have  been  in  force 
elsewhere  and  Bridgeport  is  certainly  as  capable  as  other  cities 
of  its  size  of  carrying  out  sanitary  provisions.  A  metal  can 
holding  not  more  than  forty  quarts,  tight,  and  fitted  with  a 
cover  could  be  kept  in  the  yard  near  the  house  without  any 
1)ad  results  and  would  be  far  more  convenient  than  cans  kept 

41 


Garbage,  ashes  and  old  cans  thrown  into  the  yard  from 
the  rear  porch.     The  ash  bin  was  over-full 
and  the  yard  wet  and  muddy 


42 


in  the  rear  of  the  yards,  especially  during  the  winter  months, 
when  there  is  snow  on  the  ground,  or  when  the  yards  are 
muddy  and  wet.  The  practice  of  throwing  garbage  into  the 
yards  is,  1  believe,  largely  the  result  of  the  inconvenience  of 
reaching  the  garbage  receptacle.  Poorly  shod  women  often 
must  tramp  through  snow  and  mud  a  distance  of  30  feet  and 
even  further  to  reach  the  garbage  barrel. 

The  problem  of  ash  disposal  is  one  which  merits  the  at- 
tention of  the  city  officials.  At  the  present  time  the  usual 
plan  is  to  have  a  wooden  bin  built  in  the  yard.  In  the  case  of 
tenement  houses  these  bins  are  often  huge  affairs  serving 
sixteen  families  and  even  more.  When  left  uncovered  the 
rain  and  snow  falling  upon  the  ashes  seep  through  and  then 
freeze,  the  contents  of  the  bin  forming  a  solid  mass  which  can 
l)e  removed  only  by  the  use  of  a  pick.  When  the  ashes  are 
piled  above  the  edge  of  the  bin,  much  of  the  refuse  is  washed 
into  the  yard  by  heavy  storms.  The  thrifty  tenement  dweller 
is  careful  al)out  sifting  her  ashes.  The  bins  are  often  so  high 
that  it  is  impossible  for  her  to  do  her  sifting  over  the  bin  so 
that  the  unsightly  ])ile  in  front  of  the  bin  is  increased  by  the 
ash  dust  from  the  sifting.  This  dust  is  blown  about  the  yards, 
covering  porches  and  railings  with  a  fine  white  powder.  One 
bad  feature  of  the  present  method  of  ash 'disposal  is  the  in- 
evitable practice  of  mixing  the  garbage  Vvitli  the  ashes.  A 
short  trip  through  any  tenement  district  in  the  city  during  the 
late  winter  or  early  spring  will  reveal  dozens  of  instances 
where  orange  skins  and  peelings  are  found  in  the  bins  or 
scattered  about  the  yards  as  a  result  of  the  chickens  and  cats 
getting  into  the  bins  in  search  of  food.  At  the  best  these  ash 
bins  are  unsightly,  disfiguring  many  of  the  yards  even  in  good 
residence  sections.  When  the  spring  comes  there  is  great  de- 
mand for  the  private  collectors  who  frequently  cannot  attend 
to  orders  rapidly  enough.  Nor  are  they  careful  to  clean  up  the 
overflow  in  the  yard  when  they  empty  the  bins. 

The  collection  of  ashes  is  a  proper  function  of  city  govern- 
ment. It  is  far  more  economical  than  the  private  collections 
now  in  vogue.  If  properly  arranged  in  connection  with  the 
collection  of  garbage;  garbage  collections  being  more  fre- 
quent in  summer  and  ash  collections  more  frequent  in  win- 
ter ;  much  economy  of  time  and  expense  can  be  obtained. 

43 


A    broken  ash  bin  at  the  rear  of  a  tenement  house 


44 


An  even  more  difficult  prol)lem  than  the  disposal  of  ashes 
is  the  disposal  of  such  materials  as  tin  cans  and  glass  bottles. 
Such  refuse  is  not  very  desirable  for  filling  in  purposes  and  if 
left  about  exposed,  subjects  children  to  the  danger  of  bad  cuts 
and  sores  resultinp"  from  broken  ^lass  and  rustv  metal.  The 
failure  of  the  city  to  provide  for  the  proper  disposal  of  this 
class  of  rubbish  has  resulted  in  most  unsightly  conditions  of 
yards  and  dumps,  and  deprives  the  city  of  the  valuable  asset 
of  a  neat,  tidy  and  prosperous  appearance.  In  justice  to  all. 
the  city  should  collect  all  sorts  of  refuse.  At  the  present  time 
a  man  who  faithfully  performs  his  duty  in  disposing  of  the 
waste  material  from  his  premises  frequently  suiTers  from  his 
neighl)ors'  neglect.  Nor  are  cases  unknown  where  yards  are 
actually  used  as  dumps  by  neighboring  tenants  for  whom  no 
suitable  provision  is  made.  Both  justice  and  economy  demand 
that  the  city  should  perform  this  duty. 

Drainage  and  Cleanliness  of  Yards:  Situated  as  Bridge- 
port is  with  creeks  and  streams  in  many  parts  of  the  city, 
there  is  of  necessity  much  land  which  has  been  filled  in.  This 
work  has  frequently  been  done  without  any  ])roper  attention 
to  grading.  The  yards,  especially  in  the  tenement  districts, 
are  dotted  with  small  puddles  and  are  ankle-deep  in  mud  or 
slush  much  of  the  time.  In  some  instances  the  yards  remained 
in  this  condition  continuously  for  weeks.  The  spaces  between 
the  sides  of  the  houses  and  adjoining  fences  are  rank  with 
stagnant  water. .  It  is  conditions  such  as  these  which  foster 
epidemics  and  the  spread  of  disease.  When  we  consider  the 
usual  method  of  disposing  of  ashes  in  these  yards  the  result 
can  best  be  described  as  one  vast  mud-pie  with  bits  of  garbage 
as  a  decoration.  That  the  condition  is  unnecessary  is  shown 
clearly  by  the  fact  that  small  houses  adjacent  have  their  yards 
graded  and  sodded  so  that  there  is  rarely  any  standing  water 
to  complain  of. 

Outbuildings:  The  large  yards  so  often  found  in  the 
districts  inspected  lead  quite  naturally  to  the  erection  of  out- 
buildings. In  many  instances  these  are  small  frame  structures 
erected  in  an  amateurish  way  for  housing  a  few  chickens. 
Occasionally  there  are  stables  in  these  rear  yards  and  among 
these  are  some  so  larse  as  to  be  a  menace  to  the  neighboring 


45 


Narrow  space  between  buildings,  dirty  and  standing  water. 
The  condition  continued  for  weeks 


46 


dwellings.  Of  other  animals  there  was  no  evidence  except  an 
occasional  goose  or  a  few  rabbits  or  pigeons,  and  in  one  in- 
stance a  black  billy-goat  was  bedded  under  the  rear  porch  and 
during  the  daytime  tethered  in  the  yard  by  a  long  rope.  He, 
together  with  the  chickens  in  this  yard,  ate  macaroni  with  true 
Italian  relish,  but  the  condition  of  the  yard  as  a  result  of  the 
large  animal  family  was  quite  unsanitary. 

In  almost  every  instance  where  the  cellar  or  basement  is 
used  for  dwelling  ])uri)oses,  storage  bins  are  erected  in  the 
yard  for  the  use  of  the  tenants.  These  bins  are  usually  flimsy 
wooden  shacks,  and  increase  greatly  the  risk  of  fire  in  the  dis- 
trict. The  cellar  is  a  better  place  for  the  storage  of  coal  and 
wood  than  for  dwellings  for  human  beings,  and  by  using  it 
for  its  proper  purpose  these  storage  bins  could  be  absolutely 
eliminated. 

Repair  of  Buildings:  Only  a  very  few  buildings  were 
classified  as  being  in  1)ad  repair.  This  classification  includes 
only  buildings  unfit  for  human  habitation  because  of  leaking 
roofs,  unsanitary  plumbing,  and  broken  walls  and  windows. 
Many  Iniildings,  however,  were  classified  as  being  only  in  fair 
repair.  Such  buildings  had  broken  plaster,  small  leaks  in  the 
plumbing  (many  of  these  were  in  the  intake  pipes  in  the 
cellar)  and  such  a  lack  of  paint  that  deterioration  was  result- 
ing. Houses  were  considered  in  good  repair  if  the  roof  was 
tight,  plumbing  in  good  condition,  and  walls,  windows,  and 
clapboards  without  a  break.  Lack  of  paint  alone  or  a  single 
break  in  the  plaster  where  the  doorknob  continually  hits 
against  the  wall  are  not  sufficient  to  place  a  house  in  the  rank 
of  those  in  fair  repair  only,  and  due  allowance  was  always 
made  for  repairs  which  were  found  well  under  way  or  for 
needed  repairs  in  buildings  quite  evidently  usually  kept  in 
excellent  condition.  A  severe  storm  will  often  break  win- 
dows and  shutters,  or  an  unexpected  cold  snap  afifect  the 
])lumbing  to  such  an  extent  in  these  unheated  frame  buildings 
that  their  usual  condition  cannot  be  judged  by  a  single  day's 
inspection.  For  this  reason  conditions  that  seemed  unusual 
at  the  time  of  the  first  visit  were  re-inspected  after  several 
weeks. 


47 


Large  stable  at  the  rear  of  a  tenement  house.      Stable  litter  in  the  yard. 
This  is  a  nuisance  to  the  neighborhood 


48 


CHAPTER  V. 
NARROW  STREETS,  COURTS  AND  LANES. 

There  are  in  Bridgeport  a  number  of  minor  thorough- 
fares, some  of  them  streets  or  lanes  which  are  open  at  both 
ends  to  pubHc  highways,  others  are  blind  courts.  Several 
of  these  were  studied  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  paving, 
hghting,  and  the  type  of  house.  It  was  found  that  many 
were  especially  narrow  at  the  entrances  because  the  minor 
street  was  made  from  the  side  yards  of  the  street  houses.  The 
open  space  back  of  the  houses  was  then  built  upon,  but  the 
houses  were  placed  back  from  the  lane.  The  result  of  this 
method  of  development  is  that  the  courts  are  bottle-shaped 
with  the  neck  of  the  bottle  made  by  the  houses  on  the  main 
thoroughfares. 


Lighting  and  Paving  of  eighteen  minor  ways 


Paved  across 

Sidewalk 

No  pavement 
to  dwellings 

Total 

Lighted  within 

Light  at  entrance  only 

No  artificial  light 

4 
1 
2 

5 
4 
0 

2 
0 
0 

11 
5 
2 

Total 

7 

9 

2 

18 

In  the  case  of  the  streets  open  at  both  ends  the  narrow- 
ing of  the  way  may  occur  at  one  end  only.  Some  of  these 
minor  thoroughfares  bear  signs  stating  that  they  are  private, 
others  have  no  such  notices,  but  most  of  them  have  been  open 
to  the  public  for  years,  so  that  in  practice,  if  not  in  title,  they 
have  reverted  to  public  ownership.  Mr.  Courtade  says  that 
there  is  an  ordinance  in  efifect  which  reads,  "No  street  will 
be  accepted  by  the  council  unless  the  width  shall  be  at  least 
fifty  feet."  There  are,  however,  in  some  of  these  narrow  ways 
lamp-posts  and  some  of  the  streets  are  paved.  One  pavement 
for  wagons  and  pedestrians  was  found  a  good  arrangement  if 


49 


graded  to  drain  properly.  Others  are  without  any  artificial 
lighting,  either  within  the  street  or  from  a  lamp  placed  on  the 
public  highway  near  the  entrance.  The  type  of  house  l)uilt 
on  these  streets  varies  from  small  detached  cottages  to  l)locks 
of  frame  tenements. 


Street. 


Yard       i     Yards  of  lane  houses. 


Lane. 


H( 


Yard       i     Yards  of  lane  houses. 


These  narrow  streets,  courts,  and  lanes  should  be  paved, 
well  lighted,  and  policed  by  the  city.  It  is  in  just  such  de- 
velopments that  the  worst  possible  conditions  arise,  that 
gangsters  congregate  and  petty  crimes  occur,  unless  there  is 
proper  supervision.  If,  however,  proper  precautions  are  taken 
these  minor  thoroughfares  should  l)ecome  excellent  places  for 
the  erection  of  small  dwellings.  The  narrowness  of  the  street 
will  make  its  paving  and  maintenance  less  expensive  than 
the  wider  streets  of  the  city,  and  land  values  should  l)e  less 
than  on  the  through  streets.  The  type  of  house  permitted  in 
such  places  should  depend  upon  the  width  and  character  of 
the  open  space.  It  is  safe  to  say,  however,  that  no  tenement 
can  safely  be  allowed  except  on  the  main  thoroughfares,  and 
that  in  most  instances  only  one-family  houses  should  be 
tolerated  in  the  courts  and  lanes.  Moreover  these  courts  and 
lanes  should  usually  be  opened  at  both  ends  to  the  through 
streets  and  they  should  be  without  branches  or  l)ends  so  that 
every  part  of  them  may  be  in  full  view  from  the  street  en- 
trances. Of  course  they  should  l)e  lighted  just  as  the  streets 
are.  Dark,  hidden  cul-de-sacs  ofifer  temptation  for  disorder 
and  immorality.  Some  definite  plan  for  the  development  of 
the  over-deep  lots  in  the  city  might  well  l)e  provided  for  in 
the  report  of  the  City  Plan  Commission. 


50 


CHAPTER  VI. 
RECENT  DEVELOPMENTS. 

Tenements:  The  records  of  the  building  department 
show  a  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  tenements  erected 
during-  the  past  five  years.  The  total  number  of  such  build- 
ings erected  during  the  year  April,  1913,  to  March  31st,  1914, 
was  176,  housing  534  families.  The  greatest  number  of  these 
tenements  are  frame  buildings  housing  three  families  each. 
This  kind  of  tenement  is  favored  by  the  immigrant  builder 
who  borrows  enough  money  to  build  such  a  house,  heavily 
mortgaged.  He  then  lives  in  one  of  the  apartments  himself 
and  rents  out  the  other  two,  paying  the  running  expenses  and 
something  toward  clearing  the  mortgage  from  the  rents  he 
collects.  Many  of  the  tenements  which  are  being  erected 
have  large  yards  and  courts  which  seem  to  bear  out  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  present  condition  in  Bridgeport,  namely,  that 
tenements  are  built  in  the  belief  that  they  save  expense  in 
cellars  and  roofs  rather  than  because  there  is  pressure  toward 
land  over-crowding.  The  amount  of  land  surrounding  many 
of  the  tenements  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  erection  of  two  or 
three  small  dwellings  if  the  land  were  properly  developed, 
but  the  deep  lots  cannot  be  used  to  advantage  in  the  erection 
of  small  houses.  It  would  be  necessary  to  develop  the  proper- 
ty either  as  a  court  or  to  cut  through  additional  minor  streets 
to  furnish  a  right-of-way  for  the  houses  on  the  tail  end  of  the 
lots.  The  tendency  to  build  tenements  is  seen  even  in  the 
outskirts  of  Bridgeport  where  the  old  farms  are  being  ])roken 
up  into  building  lots.  The  owners  have  been  weaned  away 
from  the  one-family  house  idea  by  their  lives  in  the  tenement 
districts  of  the  city  and  move  into  the  open  country  hampered 
by  false  standards  of  American  living.  Some  of  these  tene- 
ments are  being  built  where  the  streets  are  not  yet  cut 
through  and  where  there  is  no  possibility  of  sewer  connection. 
The  first  l)uil(ling  of  this  character  does  not  impress  the  casual 

51 


observer  as  being  especially  objectionable.  Plumbing  ar- 
rangements are  installed  and  are  connected  with  a  cesspool 
which  under  the  law  must  be  twenty  feet  at  least  from  the 
dwelling.  But  when  whole  sections  are  developed  in  this 
way  the  yards  become  a  net-work  of  cesspools  and  conditions 
become  bad  indeed  unless  the  supervision  is  thorough  and 
constant. 

Even  if  every  tenement  in  the  city  were  light  and  airy, 
equipped  with  modern  sanitary  conveniences  and  safeguarded 
from  fire,  the  tenements  of  Bridgeport  w^ould  menace  her 
future  citizenship.  The  congregate  life  in  these  multiple 
dwellings  is  replete  with  moral  dangers  which  threaten  to  un- 
dermine our  national  life.  There  is  a  relaxing  of  personal 
ideals  of  decency,  and  a  strain  on  the  integrity  of  the  family 
which  bodes  ill  for  the  future  of  the  Republic. 

Two-Family  Houses:  The  two-family  house  is  built  in 
larger  numbers  than  the  tenement  house;  206  such  dwellings 
have  been  erected  in  the  last  fiscal  year.  But  a  comparison  of 
the  number  of  families  housed  in  such  dwellings  with  the  num- 
ber housed  in  tenements  is  most  unfavorable,  for  these  206  two- 
family  houses  supply  apartments  for  only  412  families,  com- 
pared with  the  more  than  500  families  housed  in  new  tene- 
ments. The  usual  plan  of  these  two-family  houses  is  rather 
good.  There  are  separate  entrances  at  the  front,  the  first 
floor  furnishing  an  apartment  of  five  rooms  and  a  l^ath  with 
an  additional  room  in  the  attic,  reached  by  the  back  stairs. 
The  second  floor  has  the  same  arrangement  but  has  two 
rooms  on  the  third  floor,  reached  by  private  stairs,  direct 
from  the  apartment.  The  bath-room  is  situated  between  the 
two  bed-rooms  and  opens  ofif  a  small  hall  which  has  doors  to 
])oth  bed-rooms  and  also  to  the  kitchen.  The  stairs  in  the  rear 
are  used  by  both  families  for  reaching"  the  cellar  and  the  open 
attic.  While  not  furnishing  the  privacy  of  a  one-family 
house,  these  two-family  houses  are  far  superior  to  any  tene- 
ment. The  lack  of  variety  in  this  plan,  however,  makes  it 
necessary  for  a  family  to  accommodate  themselves  to  the 
same  number  of  rooms  without  regard  to  whether  the  family 
consists  of  two  people  or  ten.  There  is  another  plan,  which 
is  found  more  especially  in  the  less  expensive  houses,  where 

52 


A  narrow  court  with  blocks  of  frame  tenement  ihouses 


53 


the  apartments  have  four  rooms  each,  with  or  without  ad- 
ditional rooms  in  the  attic.  The  bath  in  this  case  opens  off 
the  rear  hall  and  although  doors  are  provided  to  close  this 
hall  from  the  rest  of  the  house,  it  is  the  only  means  for  reach- 
ing- the  attic  and  cellar,  so  that  the  privacy  of  each  family  is 
at  times  invaded  by  the  other. 

One-Family  Houses:  During  the  last  year  only  113  one- 
family  houses  have  been  erected  in  the  city,  the  num1ier  of 
families  housed  being,  of  course,  the  same.  Bridgeport  may 
compare  fairly  w^ell  with  other  cities  of  its  size  in  New  Eng- 
land in  the  housing  of  its  people,  but  it  falls  far  below  such  a 
city  as  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  which,  though  larger,  has  a 
very  much  greater  percentage  of  one-family  houses  in  pro- 
portion to  its  population.  Some  means  should  be  taken  in 
Bridgeport  to  encourage  the  erection  of  the  one-family  house 
by  the  immigrant  who  is  intending-  to  build.  If  the  tenement 
type  of  dwelling  could  be  prohibited  on  unsewered  streets — 
as  it  should  be  for  sanitary  reasons  if  no  other — and  any  but 
one-family  houses  on  lots  where  the  streets  are  not  yet 
opened,  there  might  well  develop  in  certain  sections  large 
areas  occupied  exclusively  by  one  and  two-family  houses, 
Once  tenements  invade  a  street,  it  is  killed  as  a  small  house 
residence  neighborhood. 

Number  of  families  that  can  be  accommodated  in  new  dwellings 
and  buildings  converted  to  dwellings  during  past  five  years.* 


1909-1910 

1910-1911 

1911-1912 

1912-1913 

1913-1914 

Total  No. 
of  families 

No.  of  families  in 
1-family  houses... 

No.  of  families  in 
2-family  houses... 

No.  of  families  in 
tenement  houses.. 

100 
430 
266 

87 
410 
406 

127 
436 
523 

145 
356 
536 

113 
412 
534 

572 
2044 
2265 

Total 

796 

903 

1086 

1037 

1059 

4881 

The  year  is  reckoned  from  April  1. 


Outlying  Sections:  The  development  of  small  house 
districts  need  not  necessarily  be  within  the  city  limits.  It  is 
often  far  wiser  for  the  man  of  small  means  to  buy  property 


54 


just  over  the  city  line  and  then  l^ear  the  additional  expense 
of  grading-,  sewer  extensions,  and  lighting  at  a  later  date 
when  the  city  incorporates  the  section  where  he  has  built.  At 
Villa  Park  there  are  many  small  houses  built  by  working  men, 
some  of  whom  walk  to  the  nearest  car-line,  and  others  walk 
the  entire  distance  to  their  work  if  the  weather  is  at  all  favor- 
a1)le.  Bicycles  are  used  by  many  of  the  men  in  Bridgeport  as 
a  means  of  reaching  their  work,  some  of  the  factories  having 
places  for  as  many  as  one  hundred  wheels.  A  few  years  ago 
the  section  of  the  city  lying  between  North  Main  Street  and 
Madison  Avenue  was  almost  untouched.  Lots  which  sold 
less  than  five  years  ago  for  $300.00  to  $350.00  are  now  bring- 
ing twice  that  amount  according  to  people  who  purchased  a 
few  years  ago.  Alany  of  the  houses  that  have  been  built  in 
this  section  are  of  a  good  type  but  tow^ard  Madison  Avenue 
there  are  tenements  and  two-family  houses  standing  here  and 
there  on  little  rising  knolls  many  feet  away  from  the  next 
dwelling.  Occasionally  one  sees  a  house  which,  though 
storm-proof  and  sanitary,  is  clearly  only  the  beginning  for  a 
larger  dwelling.  It  is  interesting-  to  talk  to  the  women  in 
these  homes,  which  are  almost  invariably  built  on  property 
bought  on  the  weekly  or  monthly  payment  plan.  Invariably 
it  seems  to  be  the  woman  of  the  family  who  has  the  courage 
to  undertake  the  long,  weary  process  of  purchasing  a  home  in 
this  way.  Occasionally  a  family  is  overtaken  by  misfortune 
and  must  give  up  what  they  have  worked  for  so  industriously. 
Others,  however,  are  more  fortunate,  some  of  them  selling 
their  original  plots  at  an  advance  and  moving  out  further 
where  the  money  thus  gained  puts  them  in  a  better  position 
to  face  the  future  with  a  smaller  debt  on  the  new  purchase. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SUMMARY. 

Good  Conditions:  At  the  head  of  the  list  of  good  con- 
ditions in  Bridgeport  is  the  water  supply.  It  is  excellent  in 
quality,  ample  in  quantity,  and  convenient  in  location.  A 
city  which  has  so  well  solved  one  of  the  most  important  pro- 
blems connected  with  the  housing  situation,  can  certainly 
face  the  future  with  hope  that  other  factors  in  the  problem 
will  reach  as  happy  a  solution.  Here  and  there  old  wells  are 
still  in  use  as  would  be  expected  in  a  city  which  has  grown 
so  rapidly  as  Bridgeport,  where  there  are  still  standing  many 
houses  which  but  a  few  years  ago  were  in  the  country  outside 
the  city  limits.  Occasionally  there  are  extreme  instances 
of  lack  of  water  facilities.  Such  a  case  was  recently  reported 
to  the  Board  of  Health  where  21  families  depended  on  2  pol- 
luted wells  for  their  entire  water  supply.  But  such  neglected 
conditions  are  rare  and  the  plentiful  supply  of  good  water 
makes  it  possible  to  do  away  with  the  old  wells. 

A  second  good  condition  in  the  city  is  the  existence  of 
l)ut  few  dwellings  with  dark  rooms.  Hardly  a  day  passes  that 
the  value  of  light  and  air  and  sunshine  from  the  point  of  view 
of  health  and  efficiency  is  not  brought  home  to  the  community 
in  the  daily  papers.  That  Bridgeport  is  almost  free  from 
rooms  which  are  without  direct  light  is  cause  for  congratula- 
tion. There  are  some  instances  in  the  city  of  this  evil ;  blocks 
of  buildings  which  are  rank  with  the  health-destroying,  un- 
lighted  rooms.  The  dark-room  evil  is  one  almost  impossible 
to  cure,  though  conditions  may  be  somewhat  bettered  by  cut- 
ting large  windows  into  adjoining  rooms.  Fortunately  the 
further  spread  of  the  evil  in  tenement  houses  is  prevented  by 
state  law,  and  should  be  immediately  prohibited  in  other 
dwellings  by  local  ordinance. 

Inextricably  bound  up  with  the  dark-room  problem  is 
the  question  of  ample  yards  and  courts.     Building  with  ade- 

57 


quate  spaces  at  the  sides  and  rear  of  the  dwellings  is  the  rule 
in  Bridgeport  today.  It  is  a  civic  duty  to  perpetuate  this  prac- 
tice. The  breaking  down  of  this  good  building  liabit  will  re- 
sult in  conditions  which  will  burden  the  community  with  the 
support  of  the  inefficient  and  diseased  wdio  are  bred  in  the 
slums  of  the  city.  Already  there  are  in  Bridgeport  small 
"Toups  of  buildings  so  crowded  together  that  they  forete/l 
bad  conditions  that  will  result  unless  definite  precautions  are 
taken  to  prevent  over-crowding  of  the  lots.  Fortunately  for 
Bridgeport,  the  factories  are  not  centered  in  the  heart  of  the 
city,  but  many  of  them  are  built  well  out  from  the  main 
streets.  This  does  away  with  many  of  the  difficulties  of  trans- 
portation which  arise  when  all  the  activities  of  the  city  are 
grouped  together.  It  also  makes  it  much  more  feasible  for 
the  workers  in  any  one  factory  to  live  comparatively  near 
their  place  of  employment.  The  location  of  factories  is  largely 
a  question  of  city  planning,  but  tliis  is  one  of  the  points  where 
city  planning  and  housing  meet. 

The  position  of  the  city  is  such  that  it  can  grow  in  all 
directions  except  towards  the  south.  It  is  growing  rapidly 
and  there  is  ample  room  for  it  to  spread  out.  The  old  farms 
are  being  converted  into  building  lots.  All  that  is  needed  to 
develop  the  property  outside  the  city  limits  and  at  the  extreme 
limits  of  the  present  city  are  adequate  transportation  facilities. 
With  a  city  so  fortunately  situated  in  regard  to  vacant  spaces, 
there  is  no  reason  why  Bridgeport  should  not  grow  to  be  a 
city  of  many  times  its  present  population,  and  with  an  ever- 
increasing  proportion  of  the  population  living  in  small  houses 
rather  than  in  the  huge,  multiple  dwellings  which  are 
threatening  to  become  the  accepted  dwelling  for  the  man  of 
small  means. 

Bad  Conditions:  The  general  acceptance  of  the  tene- 
ment house  as  the  dwelling  for  those  who  must  pay  $10.00 
or  less  for  rent  is  the  most  unpromising  aspect  of  the  Bridge- 
port situation.  In  such  dwellings  are  gathered  the  immigrant' 
population,  unaccustomed  to  our  living  conditions,  unfamiliar 
with  the  use  of  many  of  our  sanitary  conveniences ;  frequently 
lacking  all  knowledge  of  city  life.  They  reach  us  eager  to  ac- 
quire American   ideas  and  to  accept  our  ideals,   instead   we 

58 


herd  them  in  barrack  dwellings,  apart  from  the  native  born, 
and  allow  them  to  live  as  no  efficient  American  would.  Al- 
ready we  are  reaping  what  we  have  sown.  In  some  of  the 
larger  cities  even  the  well-to-do  are  being-  forced  into  tene- 
ment dwellings,  for  when  the  multiple  dwelling  has  driven 
out  the  small  house  there  is  no  choice.  Bridgeport  itself  is 
not  free  from  the  results  of  having  put  before  the  foreigner 
a  l)ad  model  which  he  has  copied  and  is  now  forcing  on  the 
native  l)orn.  The  erection  of  tenements  in  the  outlying  sec- 
tions of  the  city,  by  the  immigrant,  shows  all  too  clearlv  that 
the  tenement  idea  of  life  has  become  the  ideal  of  many. 

Another  bad  feature  of  the  housing  conditions  in  Bridge- 
port is  the  rear  house.  This  type  of  dwelling  is  objectionable 
whether  it  is  a  tenement  or  not.  It  is  usually  poorly  lighted 
and  ventilated,  frequently  in  need  of  paint  and  repairs,  and 
always  houses  the  less  efficient  elements  of  the  population 
because  of  the  lower  rents.  Public  opinion  is  with  most  of 
us  a  powerful  incentive  for  bringing  out  the  best  that  is  in 
us.  It  is  an  incentive  which  is  especially  needed  by  the  weak 
and  inefficient  who  lose  their  initiative  and  self-respect  easily. 
Such  people  quickly  reflect  their  environment  and  their 
standards  of  living  deteriorate  rapidly  unless  subjected  to  the 
constant  scrutiny  of  their  neighbors  and  the  community.  For 
psychological  reasons,  if  no  other,  the  rear  dwelling  should  be 
prevented.  The  rear  house  is  due  to  a  great  extent  to  the  city 
plan  or  rather  to  the  lack  of  such  a  plan.  Where  lots  are  so 
deep  that  they  cannot  be  developed  economically  for  a  single 
house,  the  usual  recourse  is  to  the  erection  of  additional 
houses  at  the  rear  of  the  lot.  Under  the  present  state  law  no 
tenement  may  be  erected  on  the  rear  of  a  lot  on  which  there 
is  already  one  tenement,  unless  there  is  a  yard  thirty  feet  wide 
between  the  two,  and  all  tenements  must  have  rear  yards  of 
ample  depth.  This  provision  prohibits  the  erection  of  rear 
tenements  on  almost  all  lots,  but  it  in  no  way  affects  the  erec- 
tion of  non-tenement  dwellings.  A  local  ordinance  designed 
to  stop  the  evil  in  all  dwellings  was  passed  in  1910.  This  or  a 
similar  ordinance  framed  to  meet  the  legal  objections  to  the 
present  one,  should  be  enforced  impartially. 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  very  good  water  facilities  are 
the  toilet  arrangements  in  tenement  houses.     The  unliohted 


59 


toilet  compartment  is  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception.  A 
single  fixture  is  frequently  made  to  serve  two  families  and 
there  is  no  possibility  of  either  family  or  individual  privacy 
in  the  use  of  the  convenience.  It  cannot  be  strongly  enough 
urged  that  privacy,  decency,  and  morality  require  that  each 
family  should  have  the  use  of  a  water-closet  accessible  direct- 
ly from  the  apartment  without  passing  through  any^  public 
part  of  a  dwelling. 

The  lack  of  city  collection  of  ashes  is  one  of  the  most 
noticeable,  if  not  one  of  the  most  unwholesome  evidences  of 
civic  neglect.  Such  collection  is  imperative  and  is  accessary 
for  the  entire  population.  The  neglect  of  this  obvious  duty 
results  in  an  unsightly,  uncleanly  condition  of  the  yards  and 
vacant  spaces  for  which  there  is  no  excuse.  Other  cities  not 
one-third  as  large  as  Bridgeport,  (i.  e.,  Mt.  Vernon  and  Ithaca, 
New  York),  have  solved  the  problem  of  city  collection  of  all 
kinds  of  waste,  and  some  have  converted  yards  and  vacant 
lots  into  gardens  which  replace  the  usual  dreary  dump.  The 
use  of  vacant  spaces  as  gardens  is  an  economic  solution  of  the 
vacant  lot  problem  which  prevents  the  use  of  such  spaces  for 
unsightly  purposes  and  at  the  same  time  provides  the  thrifty 
immigrant  with  a  chance  to  raise  the  small  vegetables  which 
so  many  of  our  foreign-born  fellow-citizens  know  well  how  to 
bring  to  perfection. 

There  has  been  so  much  agitation  concerning  the  exten- 
sion of  sewers  in  Bridgeport  that  the  present  bad  conditions 
need  be  referred  to  only  in  a  general  way.  As  all  who  read  the 
daily  papers  know,  there  are  sections  of  the  city  which  are 
absolutely  without  sew^er  connection  or  possibility  of  making 
any  such  connection,  and  there  are  other  parts  of  the  city 
where  the  present  sewers  are  inadequate  for  their  present 
use,  so  that  it  is  inadvisable  to  connect  additional  sewers  to 
these  mains.  No  large  city  can  maintain  itself  as  a  healthy 
community  unless  proper  sewers  are  provided.  In  scattered 
communities  cess-pools  are  permissible  but  in  a  city  the  size 
of  Bridgeport  the  use  of  cess-pools  is  bound  to  cause  such 
conditions  as  were  recently  reported  from  the  North  End,  and 
which   threaten   the  community  with   disease.     Certainly   no 

60 


A  typical  ash  bin  in  the  yard  of    a  Bridgeport  tenement  house 
in  the  early  spring 


61 


tenement  or  two-family  house  should  be  permitted  in  the  parts 
of  the  city  which  are  without  sewer  connection. 

The  Outlook:  The  housing  situation  in  Bridgeport  is 
one  which  merits  immediate  attention.  With  conditions  exist- 
ing and  threatening  that  should  be  cured  and  prevented  and 
many  good  conditions  which  should  be  safeguarded  and  en- 
couraged lest  they  be  lost  to  the  Bridgeport  of  the  future,  the 
time  is  ripe  for  definite  action.  Many  of  the  bad  conditions 
can  be  remedied ;  windows  may  be  cut  into  dark  rooms ;  dark 
toilet  compartments  can  be  lighted  or  replaced  by  compart- 
ments with  outside  windows  and  provision  for  privacy.  There 
are  already  efforts  being  made  to  improve  the  present  situa- 
tion in  regard  to  sanitary  sewers.  In  addition  to  this  work  of 
alleviating  bad  conditions  there  is  the  greater  work  of  pre- 
vention. It  is  at  this  point  that  the  problem  becomes  most 
hopeful.  The  present  tenement  house  law  has  already  checked 
some  bad  tendencies  and  local  ordinances  and  wise  inspection 
are  preventing  the  construction  of  dark  rooms  in  the  smaller 
dwellings.  But  a  constructive  policy,  not  content  with  main- 
taining the  present  standards,  but  determined  to  provide  much 
better  conditions  must  be  inaugurated. 


62 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1  There  is  in  Bridgeport  a  great  need  for  certain  activi- 
ties usually  initiated  by  private  societies.  A  practical  visiting 
housekeeper  could  do  much  to  improve  conditions  in  the 
homes  of  those  who  do  not  know  our  American  standards  of 
living"  and  are  unfamiliar  with  the  conveniences  provided  in 
modern  city  dwellings. 

2  An  organized  effort  to  transform  yards  and  vacant 
lots  into  gardens  would  give  many  a  chance  for  wholesome 
recreation  and  would  help  to  abolish  the  dreary  dumps. 

3  The  dearth  of  good  small  houses  in  Bridgeport  indi- 
cates that  there  is  a  field  for  a  building  company  which  will 
construct  such  houses  and  at  the  same  time  offer  a  fair  re- 
turn on  all  money  invested  in  the  undertaking.  Such  com- 
panies have  been  organized  in  several  cities  and  small  sanitary 
dwellings  have  been  erected.  The  work  of  these  other  cities 
should  be  studied  but  not  slavishly  followed.  In  no  two  cities 
is  the  prol)lem  exactly  the  same  and  Bridgeport  must  solve 
her  own  difficulties. 

4  The  following  recommendations  can  be  realized  only 
through  the  local  government.  A  complete  record  of  vaults 
and  cess-pools  should  be  made  as  a  basis  for  thorough, 
periodic  inspections,  which  are  necessary  until  sewer  connec- 
tions are  substituted  for  these  primitive  methods  of  disposal. 

5  City  collection  of  ashes  and  rubbish  has  already  been 
urged  as  the  only  eft'ective  method  of  making  the  city  sweet 
and  clean. 


63 


6  The  extension  of  the  sewers  is  a  necessity. 

7  Additional  inspectors  are  needed  to  carry  out  the  pro- 
visions of  the  ''Act  Concerning  Sanitary  Conditions  in  Tene- 
ment, Lodging  and  Boarding  Houses."  It  is  impossible  to 
say  how  many  inspectors  are  needed  for  this  work  as  no  one 
knows  the  number  of  houses  in  the  city  coming  under  the 
provisions  of  the  act.  Three  men  added  to  the  present  force 
of  the  board  of  health  and  giving-  all  their  time  to  the  work, 
is  a  conservative  estimate. 

8  A  city  Housing  Code  is  needed  to  supplement  the 
state  law  and  to  extend  necessary  protection  to  i-  and  2-family 
houses.  Such  codes  have  been  passed  in  Columbus,  Duluth 
and  Grand  Rapids.  Mr.  Veiller's  Model  Housing  Law  is  an 
excellent  guide  in  drafting  such  an  ordinance  as  it  contains 
the  various  forms  in  which  provisions  for  good  housing  have 
been  tried  out  with  success.  The  state  law  needs  strengthen- 
ing as  follows : 

In  sections  5,  6,  8,  9,  10  and  ir  which  deal  with  the  mini- 
mum dimensions  of  yards  and  courts  the  open  spaces  should 
be  increased  from  two  to  four  feet  so  as  to  keep  conditions  as 
good  throughout  the  city  as  they  are  now  in  most  cases. 

Section  19  should  be  amended  so  that  all  water  closet 
compartments  must  have  a  window  to  the  street,  yard  or 
court.  The  practice  of  allowing  shaft  windows  has  been 
thoroughly  tried  out  and  found  wanting.  In  addition  all  such 
compartments  in  tenement  houses  should  have  water  proof 
floors  and  base  boards. 


64 


^^^^  ^o  oi^OA  V 


"•^^o^t/^^T/iS,^ 


YD  06G93 


'^ 


'     393443 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


